RFK Jr.’s Letter to Congress

In which he explained why he withdrew the Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for young children and pregnant women

On May 27, 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, made a surprise announcement in a video posted on X that he would no longer recommend Covid vaccines for healthy young children and healthy pregnant women. “I couldn’t be more pleased,” enthused Kennedy. “We’re now one step closer to realizing President Trump’s promise to Make America Healthy Again.” The CDC was blindsided by the announcement. One week later, on June 5, after public health groups had roundly condemned the recommendation, RFK Jr. justified his decision in a letter to Congress. The letter was deeply dishonest.

In his letter, RFK Jr. argued that “…the safety and efficacy of [Covid-19] vaccines for…pregnant mothers have not been established,” citing three studies:

· Study #1: RFK Jr. wrote that the study found that, “… pregnant women showed higher rates of fetal loss if vaccination was received before 20-weeks of pregnancy.” In fact, the study concluded that “SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was not associated with miscarriage.”

· Study #2: RFK Jr. wrote that the study “showed statistically significant increases in preterm birth,” when in fact the authors concluded that “SARS-CoV-2 vaccine appears to be safe during pregnancy with no increase in incidence of preterm labor.”

· Study #3: RFK Jr. wrote that the study “…showed an increase in placental blood clotting in pregnant mothers who took the vaccine,” when the term “placental blood clotting” doesn’t appear anywhere in the paper. RFK Jr. counts on the fact that few people will read the studies he references. This level of misrepresentation is at least cynical and at worst fraudulent.

Regarding healthy children, RFK Jr. referenced a study which claimed that “myocarditis reports in VAERS after Covid-19 vaccination in 2021 was 223 times higher than the average of all vaccines combined for the past 30 years.” RFK Jr. failed to mention that myocarditis following vaccination is short-lived, far less severe than myocarditis caused by infection, and, according to the most recent CDC estimates, has virtually disappeared. Further, the study was written by a well-known anti-vaccine activist whose board certifications have been revoked and who had inappropriately used data from the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) to make his claims.

Studies using the VAERS database are generally unreliable. As described by the CDC, “VAERS accepts all reports of adverse events following vaccination without judging whether the vaccine caused the adverse event.” The problem with using VAERS data to make claims about vaccine safety was best demonstrated by an anesthesiologist named James Laidler who, in 2004, submitted a report to VAERS that following his annual influenza vaccine, his muscles began to grow, his skin became green, and he turned into the Incredible Hulk. This report remains in the VAERS system, which is unfiltered.

The letter that RFK Jr. sent to Congress to justify his decisions about Covid-19 vaccines would fail a 10^th grade science class. As a document produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, it is a stunning indictment on the lack of integrity of the nation’s leading health official.